The site of Rockhampton, now the principal city of Central Queensland, was chosen in 1855 by Mr. Wiseman, a Land Commissioner of New South Wales who had been despatched from Sydney to confirm the Archer Brothers in the possession of their Gracemere run. The town received its name from the bar of rocks running across the river at the head of navigation. Its first expansion dates from the rush to the Canoona diggings, then called Port Curtis rush, which took place in 1858, as it was then the nearest port to the field, and therefore handled all the trade to and from the diggings. When the field was declared a “duffer,” and the miners departed in disgust, they left the nucleus of a settlement behind which was subsequently to become the seaport and distributing centre for all the rich pastoral country now comprised in the Central District.

Among the first settlers to open up Gladstone was R. E. Palmer, who built a large wool store and wharf so that the wool from Rannes and other stations lately formed could be shipped from there. He then took up Targinie cattle station over the harbour on the north side. The town is now noted for its healthiness and pleasant climate, and the beautiful view of the harbour, studded with islands. A North Australian settlement was attempted here when the Gladstone Government was in power, in January, 1847. Colonel Barney was head of the colonising party in the “Lord Auckland.” Both these names are perpetuated in Barney Point, and Auckland Creek. The party were recalled after three months stay, and the locality was left alone until 1854, when Captain (afterwards Sir) Maurice O’Connell was sent up as Government Resident.

The first to discover and report on the grand harbour of Port Denison was Captain Sinclair, in the schooner “Santa Barbara.” An expectation had been held out by the New South Wales Government that a handsome reward would be given to anyone who discovered a good harbour north of Port Curtis.

In hope of obtaining this reward, this little craft of only nine tons was fitted out at private expense, and sailed from Rockhampton on September 1st, 1859. The party consisted of Captain Sinclair, master; W. H. Thomas, seaman; and Messrs. James Gordon and Benjamin Poole, passengers. After piloting their way through islands and reefs and heavy storms, besides unknown dangers from the natives, they sailed into Port Denison on October 17th, 1859, and were gratified and surprised to find such a capacious and secure harbour. They landed and examined the bay, surveying and sketching some parts of it, but owing to the hostility and treachery of the natives, who were very numerous both on the islands and the mainland, they were not permitted to extend their knowledge of the port. The “Santa Barbara” left Port Denison on October 19th, and after boxing about for some time among the Cumberland Islands, reached Keppel Bay on her return on October 31st. The harbour is of an oval form, probably some ten miles in extreme length, and about four miles across from Station Island to the mainland; it is formed partly by an indentation in the coast, and partly by two islands running across it. Here at last was a port that would be a starting point for further settlement in the interior, a most suitable and secure harbour, discovered and opened up without any expense to the Government, and with such small means and outfit that the journal of those enterprising and heroic voyagers reads like a tale of romance. Although successful in this matter, they were not able to obtain the promised reward, for just at that time the separation of the new colony took place, and their claim was handed over to the new Government. A petition presented to the Queensland Parliament procured no further recognition than that Captain Sinclair was made Harbour Master, and Mr. James Gordon the first customs officer in Townsville.

Very little was at that time known of the interior comprising the Kennedy district, which was thrown open to pastoral occupation on November 17th, 1859, by proclamation of the New South Wales Government, it being then part of that colony. Leichhardt had passed through it down the Suttor; Mitchell just touched its southern extremity; Landsborough penetrated from the direction of Fort Cooper, into the upper waters of the Bowen, which river he discovered and called the Bonnar.

Bowen was settled by George Elphinstone Dalrymple, Police Magistrate and Commissioner of Crown Lands, and several squatters who had come overland with him, and also by a number of persons, including Mr. James Gordon, who arrived at Bowen from Rockhampton per schooner “Jeannie Dove” with stores, a few days before Mr. Dalrymple.

On the organisation of the new Queensland Government, a proclamation was issued withdrawing the Kennedy district from occupation, and the tenders previously received were returned to the tenderers.

These explorers of a new port and future city were deserving of a much higher and better recognition than was accorded them by either Government.

The first sale of Bowen town lands was held in Brisbane on October 7th, 1861, when eighty-nine lots were sold, realising £2,083. Many of those early investors were Brisbane men, well known in business and the professions. The lots were mostly half-acres in area, and averaged about £25 to £50 per acre, the first Bishop of Brisbane (Tuffnell) figuring largely among the land buyers. In 1863 the demand for land called for several sales, as the town was progressing on account of the large overlanding of stock and the shipments of supplies for parties taking up country to the north and west.

A land sale on April 20th, 1863, was held in Bowen, when seventy-nine lots were sold, realising £1,718; all the lots went above the upset price. On June 8th, 1863, another land sale took place in Bowen, when seventy-four lots were sold, realising £1,135; among these were some country lands in ten-acre lots, which realised the upset price, £3 7s. 6d. per acre. For town lots the upset price was £20 per acre; the competition for fancy lots was keen enough to run them up to as much as £100 per lot. Still another land sale had to be held to keep pace with the growing town, and the demands of speculators. This was held in Bowen on August 3rd, 1863, when seventy-three lots found purchasers, realising £2,643. This sale consisted mostly of country lands, put up in lots of from seventeen to fifty acres, at the upset price of £1 per acre; 1,518 acres were sold at this last land sale. These figures from official sources testify to the rapidity of the expansion of the new town, and to the high expectations that were formed as to its future rise and progress. Many familiar names occur in the annals of the official register, but most of the purchasers are now dead. Seaward, Marsh, and Genge, who had a large business as storekeepers, figure extensively as buyers, also Mr. J. G. Macdonald, James Hall Scott, Korah H. Willis, Thomas Cavanagh—a well-known celebrity of Bowen—and many other old identities are called to mind by looking through the list of the first land buyers in Bowen. Few now remain of those early speculators. The treasury of the young colony benefited by their ambition to hold land in the future capital of the north by the sum of £7,579.

The town wore gay and holiday aspect when the Governor, Sir G. F. Bowen, landed in 1865. The jetty at that time was being built, and the town was filled with squatters from all parts of the north, getting supplies or tendering for new country. Flags were flying, addresses of welcome were presented, a bullock was roasted whole on the beach, barrels of beer were on tap alongside the bullock, tons of bread were there to go with it, and an assorted crowd was ready to do justice to both bullock and beer. A levee was held, an undress one, of course, as evening dress had not reached so far north at that time, but coats were found for every one in which to make a bow to the Governor. The only block hat that had reached the latitude of Bowen was worn by Mr. R. H. Smith, afterwards member for the district, who had the honor of escorting His Excellency up to the town. A ball was held in the evening in honor of the event, and many other things took place that this chronicle will pass over.

Frederick Bode, at Strathdon, W. Powell, of Salisbury Plains, J. G. Macdonald, of Inkermann, Collings, at Eton Vale, A. C. Grant, at Dartmoor, all were settlers in Bowen district in the early days.

Townsville was named after Captain Robert Towns, of Sydney, of the firm of R. Towns and Co., who held stations inland from Cleveland Bay, and as it became necessary to open some other port north of Bowen, which had hitherto been the distributing centre, explorations were made by some of the managers of these stations, foremost among whom was Mr. Ball, the result being the discovery of the site of the present town, which was gazetted as a port of entry in October, 1865. On the 10th of that month, Mr. James Gordon arrived to perform the duties of Sub-Collector of Customs, and a great number of other official duties as well.

Cardwell is situated near the head of Rockingham Bay, opposite the north end of Hinchinbrook Island, and distant north-west from Brisbane about 950 miles, in latitude 18 deg. 16 sec. S., longitude 146 deg. 4 sec. E. Population of district and town, 3,435. The first settlement in the locality took place in 1863, and it became a place of considerable importance, being the nearest port on the east coast to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but since then other ports have been opened, offering greater facilities for shipping.

The first telegraph line from the east coast to the Gulf of Carpentaria commenced at Cardwell, but the expense connected with keeping the line open across the Sea View Range and through the dense jungle on the coast side thereof, proved too great, and the route was finally abandoned. Up to 1873, Cardwell was the most northern port on the east coast of Australia, and the port of entry for the Herbert River district. The town is now in a languishing state, but the excellence of the port may yet redeem it from obscurity.

It was from here that Kennedy’s expedition took its final departure for the north early in June, 1848, and in connection with that memorable event, we may quote a paragraph recently appearing in a Queensland journal:—

“A SAD REMEMBRANCE BRINGS.”

Recently a remarkable discovery was made at the foot of the Coast Range to the north of Cardwell—relics of the vehicles left by Kennedy, the explorer, when on his ill-fated journey up York Peninsula. It may be remembered that the party landed at Tam O’Shanter Point, Rockingham Bay, on May 30th, 1848, and that on July 18th the carts were abandoned, the party going on with twenty-six pack horses and fifty sheep. The story of the fate of Kennedy and nearly all of those who accompanied him has been frequently told, and the discovery of the remains of the carts, which have lain for nearly half a century in the jungle, revives interest in one of the saddest episodes in Australian exploration. The exact locality of the relics is kept a strict secret, the possessor of the secret being of opinion that he should profit by it. No doubt the Government would be glad to secure information which would enable it to establish the authenticity of statements which have been made on the subject.

The first intimation the southern parts had of the existence of gold in the north was a telegram from Cardwell dated September 9th, 1873. It ran as follows:—“Prospectors Mulligan, Brown, Dowdall, A. Watson, and D. Robertson, got one hundred and five ounces on the Palmer River, which they prospected for twenty miles. They say nothing of the country outside the river. Nearly all are leaving here.” This news spread like wild-fire and created a great sensation all over Australia; the difficulty was to get to the Palmer quick enough. The Government sent Mr. Bartley Fahey, Sub-Collector of Customs at Normanton, to explore the Mitchell River in order to open communication from Normanton towards the new field. Mr. G. E. Dalrymple, leader of the north coast expedition, was ordered to proceed to the Endeavour River, and he arrived at Cook’s Landing on October 24th, 1873, but the expedition was recalled. In the meantime, the A. S. N. Co.’s steamer, the “Leichhardt” (Captain Saunders), left Brisbane on October 15th with some members of the Endeavour River expedition on board. Mr. A. C. MacMillan and his party were taken on at Bowen. The “Leichhardt” arrived at Townsville on October 20th, and took on all the horses, forty-six in number, and one hundred and fifty diggers, all for the new Palmer rush. Mr. Howard St. George and party embarked at Cardwell, and on Saturday, October 25th, 1873, the “Leichhardt” was made fast to the mangroves on the Endeavour River, in sixteen feet of water, and the new township began its existence on the site where the famous navigator, Captain Cook, on June 17th, 1770; beached his damaged vessel for repairs. The gold fever was irresistible, and helped to lift the town into prominence at once, drawing people from all parts of Australia. Four months after the landing of Mr. St. George, J. V. Mulligan, arriving from the Palmer field, described Cooktown as a large progressing township, about half a mile long, with stores, public houses, and shops of all sorts, with steamers and other boats coming in and going out every few days, and containing not less than two thousand people, though some estimated the numbers at a much higher figure. Cooktown dates its existence from the landing of the passengers by the steamer “Leichhardt” in 1873. The first Police Magistrate appointed was Mr. Thomas Hamilton, who also acted as Sub-Collector of Customs. Mr. James Pryde was the first Clerk of Petty Sessions. When the first court was held on December 27th, 1873, it was to deal with the charge of stealing a goat from Townsville.

Mr. Gold, Commissioner St. George, and Mr. A. C. MacMillan, soon started on their expedition after landing at Cooktown, accompanied by eighty-six diggers, the command being one hundred and eight strong. They reported finding a good track to the Palmer. One reminiscence of their journey remains in the name of the original track, which is now known as Battle Camp, because the natives came down from the adjoining hills to dispute the right of the white men to travel through their country. Things in Cooktown kept booming along, and in April, 1874, there were from three to four thousand people camped between Grassy Hill and the outside boundary of Cooktown. During that month, sixty-five publicans’ licenses were issued, and thirty more applied for; there were also twenty eating houses, twelve large stores, twenty small ones, six butchers, five bakers, three tinsmiths, four tent makers, six hairdressers, seven blacksmiths, besides doctors, chemists, fancy shops, watchmakers, bootmakers, saddlers, etc., in proportion, and all going full speed ahead. Until the discovery of the Palmer field, and the opening of Cooktown, Cardwell was the most northern port of call on the Queensland eastern coast, and was the telegraphic centre of news from the Etheridge and Gilbert goldfields. The golden news from these far northern diggings was of a most glittering nature, but there was a reverse side of the picture in the hardships and privations endured.

In 1874, the Cooktown “Courier” was started, and shortly afterwards the “Herald.” The journalistic standard of the early days of Cooktown was esteemed, comparatively speaking, brilliant. The Queensland National Bank opened a branch there in 1874, followed by the Bank of New South Wales and The Australian Joint Stock Bank. Religion was not neglected either. In 1876, Cooktown was proclaimed a municipality, and from thence to 1878, it prospered mightily. Gold was plentiful, and its export was measured by the ton. The official returns in 1878 showed something over forty tons as having passed through the Customs, but that did not represent the measure of the enormous richness of the Palmer, as thousands upon thousands of ounces of gold were secretly taken away to China. Since then the goldfields have gradually dwindled down in their returns, and the Palmer of to-day, or even the Palmer of a few years ago, was not the grand and glorious field that made Cooktown rise like magic by the side of its splendid harbour. The later discovery of tin on Cannibal Creek, and the Annan River, again caused some stir in business, but of a much quieter description than in the halcyon days of golden light. The beche de mer industry has also been a great help to business people in Cooktown. The great red-letter day in Cooktown was the turning of the first sod for the Cooktown-Maytown Railway, on April 3rd, 1884, by the Mayor, Mr. Edward D’Arcy, when a tremendous public demonstration took place. Mr. George Bashford was the contractor for the first section, and he gave a great banquet on the occasion, inviting people from all parts of Queensland to be present. Like many other towns in Queensland, Cooktown in recent years has suffered from depression, but there is a solid future before it still. With one of the finest harbours on the east coast, it is the key to the Torres Strait route and to New Guinea. The reef-bearing country on the Palmer has still to be developed, and the great extent of this mineral wealth is as yet quite under-rated. Besides containing tin and coal in abundance, North Queensland has other grand resources in its back pastoral and agricultural country.

The town of Normanton was opened by the settlers as a better port for shipping for the Lower Flinders stations than Burketown, which was inconvenient, being too far to the west, and difficult of access. The Norman River, so called by Landsborough after the captain of the Victorian Government ship “Victoria,” is a fine and deep river.

Messrs. W. Landsborough and G. Phillips were the first to navigate the Norman, in January, 1867. They chose the site for the township on the left side of the river, where some high ironstone ridges come close in on the river bank. Here was room for the extension of a large city, naturally drained, and free from the possibility of floods, with ready access to the back country. Unfortunately, the upper reaches of the river are obstructed by bands of rocks running across from bank to bank, that hinder navigation. These, however, could be removed at small cost.

Among the first to settle in the town was Dr. Borck, a popular medical man; his brother still keeps a store in the town. Another hotel built in the first days was that of Mr. A. McLennan, who had been concerned in the first occupation of Burketown. Ellis Read, trading for R. Towns and Co., soon had a fine store established, and carried on a large business with the stations, and also with the diggings opening on the Etheridge River. The first team to arrive in the town was driven in down Spear Creek by George Trimble from his station on the Saxby, at the head of the Norman River. Then wool commenced to arrive from Donor’s Hills and other stations on the Flinders, even as early as 1868, and was shipped away to Sydney by any chance vessel offering. One of the early traders to the Norman was a well-known skipper on the east coast, Captain Till, of the “Policeman,” schooner, who made several voyages there. Normanton was never affected by sickness as Burketown had been, and its progress was steady, though slow. The country around was well watered, but not adapted to agriculture. Lagoons of fresh water fringed the river, and were well supplied with game, the river full of splendid fish, some of which ranged up to twenty pounds in weight. Alligators abounded in all the brackish waters, as they do in all tidal rivers in the Gulf, while the crocodile (so called), a smaller but quite harmless creature, is found in fresh water only. Being amphibious in its nature, it can adapt itself to pools and rivers a long way inland, and is found wherever there are deep lagoons, and in all the waters flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria.

In the early times, when one of R. Towns and Co.’s vessels was unloading at the bank of the river, one of the Kanakas employed was seized by an alligator. The man held on to a mangrove tree, and his mates beat the alligator over the head until he let go, but not before he had so torn the flesh from the man’s leg that he bled to death.

Among those who are to be reckoned as the oldest inhabitants of the Gulf country, was John Harrix, who came over with the first cattle of Mr. J. G. Macdonald from Bowen in 1864, and who owned some teams and a small station near Normanton. A partner of his named Macdonald came down the Flinders early in 1865. Percival E. Walsh, a nephew of Mr. W. H. Walsh, of Degilbo, helped to settle some runs in the Gulf country. He took up a run on the Dugald, naming it Granada, which was sold afterwards to Messrs. Hopkins Brothers. He also restocked Iffley after its desertion by its first owners, the Earle Bros., now of Yacamunda, on the Suttor River. The early citizens of Normanton include the names of Peter Armstrong, David Swan, Charles B. Hely, Charles Borck, John Edgar Byrne, for many years proprietor of “Figaro,” and a hundred others who more or less helped to form this city of the Gulf. Many of them are now resting in the cemetery outside the town.

R. Towns and Co. had forty thousand sheep on the Leichhardt, near Floraville, and a shearing shed near tidal water lower down the river, where a small steamer (the old “Pioneer,” the remains of which are still to be seen at Sweer’s Island), came for the wool. The country proving subject to terrible floods and unsuitable for sheep, the numbers gradually decreased until the remnant were finally removed.

The Etheridge goldfield was opened in the early days of Normanton, and found occupation for many teams and much labour.

Prices in the early days were at a really famine level; flour was often sold at £40 a ton, and other goods at a corresponding rate. The writer had experience of these prices when loading his own team in those early days.

Normanton had many advantages over her sister settlement, Burketown, and when the port became known, all the station trade drifted there, and Burketown declined in consequence.

Normanton was, in 1891, connected with Croydon by a railway ninety-four miles in length, which cost £211,000, and was constructed by Mr. G. Phillips, C.E., on a principle new to Queensland, the sleepers being of mild steel, instead of wood, on account of the ravages of the white ants. The line between Croydon and Normanton passes through a perfectly level and very uninteresting country, a melancholy sandy waste of ti-tree flats, covered with the innumerable pinnacles and mounds made by white ants; the pasturage is as poor as the country looks.

From Normanton a number of carriers are employed to carry goods to Cloncurry and the many stations trading therewith. Many teams are found carrying loading by the side of the railway line to Georgetown and the Etheridge past Croydon, ignoring the services of the railway. A punt service connects the town with the carrier’s camp on the opposite side of the river, where loading starts for the Etheridge. The carrier’s waggon is loaded fully up to its carrying capacity of from six to seven tons, and is drawn on to the punt by the team; on its arrival on the opposite side, the team draws the load on to the bank ready to depart on its journey. The country to Georgetown is generally of an inferior description. Towards the Cloncurry (southwards) for the first twenty miles, the road passes through timbered country, bloodwood and messmate of a poor class, then it opens out after passing Reaphook Range into open treeless plains and black soil, with excellent pasturage, and this extends for hundreds of miles to the interior, the whole of which is occupied by cattle and sheep stations that draw their supplies from Normanton up to a certain point, when the trade is induced by special arrangements of rebates on traffic rates, to diverge to Townsville, at the expense of the Gulf ports.

About the same time that Townsville was opened as a port in order to meet the requirements of the new movements in stock on the country surrounding the Gulf, Burketown commenced its rather chequered career as a commercial port in 1865.

The first supplies were brought by the “Jacmel Packet,” chartered and loaded by R. Towns and Co., from Sydney. She was the second vessel in the Albert River, the first being the brig “Firefly,” in which Mr. Landsborough brought his horses, which were landed a mile below the site of the town. The old vessel afterwards went to pieces in the river. The manifest of the “Jacmel Packet” was perhaps the most varied and strangely assorted that a trading vessel ever carried; the general cargo included pigs, dogs, fowls, houses, building materials, outfits of every kind, drays, rations, rum, and other spirits. In such fashion was the mercantile trade of Carpentaria commenced. On the opening of the goods, a saturnalia ensued, and the times were lively. The overlanders having money to spend, and not having indulged in a “spree” for years, took advantage of the absence of all control, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves in bush fashion; a fight every half hour, horse racing on the plain, or in “the street” as it was called, and strong rum for everyone. Other vessels quickly followed the first venture with more supplies. One of them, the “Gazelle,” from Sydney, made a very quick trip of sixteen days to the mouth of the river, where she broke her back on a sandbank; the hulk was towed up the river, and gradually mouldered away just opposite the town. In 1866 the first wool was shipped to Sydney from the Gulf; the first load of wool taken into Burketown being from Conobie station, shorn in November, 1865, on the Cloncurry, about 200 miles distant. The assistance the first settlers received from the Government amounted to little or nothing; the administration situated nearly two thousand miles away, had little care or thought for the struggling outsiders in the far-away Gulf country. The settlers had to protect themselves from blacks as well as from whites, and as it was some years before Burketown was made a port of entry, goods had to be cleared at Brisbane before sailing for Burketown. When the port was opened, the Customs Officer, Mr. Sandrock, was kept at Sweer’s Island, where supplies had to be cleared before going on to the mainland. This meant a great loss of time to those who brought in teams for loading. All departmental work had to be done in Brisbane, and there also the first applications for runs and declarations of stocking had to be made.

The tide of settlement had been too swift and too strong for the authorities to keep pace with, and although a Land Commissioner, in the person of Mr. J. P. Sharkey was sent out in 1866, and the Government were represented the same year by Mr. W. Landsborough in Burketown, the fact was evident that people were pretty well left to do as they liked. Burketown in 1866, and for the two or three following years, made some little progress, or appeared to do so. The drovers and shepherds, paid off after long trips with stock, had good cheques to spend, and their money was laid out in the lavish way peculiar to the old bush hand. Wages were high for all sorts of employment, 35s. to 45s. a week being the lowest. Everything was dear in the new town, but that made little difference to men who had not been in a town for years and had money to spare.

One of the first vessels to arrive in the Albert River in 1866 was the “Margaret and Mary.” She was said to have touched at some infected port in Java, and after arrival a fatal sickness broke out in Burketown that nearly carried off all the population. All hands that came in the ship died except the captain, his wife also falling a victim. A new crew had to be engaged to work the vessel before she could get away. There is little doubt but that the great mortality among the residents of Burketown during 1866 was traceable to the infection brought by this vessel. It was the wet season at the time, and this, in conjunction with the reckless life led by most of the people, and the want of medical assistance, increased the danger of the disease, and scores of strong men succumbed to its malign influence.

It would be difficult to say how many men fell victims to the epidemic, but there must have been at least a hundred, besides those who died on the surrounding stations. The disease, which ended in fever and delirium, was as fatal to the strong as to the weak, and the little cemetery soon looked like that of an old established town, so numerous were the graves. This outbreak gave Burketown an evil name. People began to leave it, and when Normanton was opened in 1867 with the prospect of becoming a more suitable port for the district, many removed there to carry on their business. Shortly after this, Burketown was absolutely deserted, not a living soul remained, and nothing was left to mark the spot except heaps of empty bottles and jam tins, and some large iron pots belonging to a boiling-down plant. A few stumps remained standing on the open plains where once had been buildings. The hulls of the “Gazelle” and “Firefly” lay falling to pieces in the river, and none were left to sigh over Burketown’s fallen fortunes, or sing a dirge in memory of its history; its short and merry life was over, and none lamented.

In these early days, Sweer’s Island was a kind of marine suburb belonging to Burketown, a sanatorium about thirty-five miles from the mouth of the Albert, where the fever-stricken people were taken to recover. Mr. W. Landsborough, the Police Magistrate, or Government resident, lived there with his family. Mr. J. P. Sharkey, the first Land Commissioner, and Mr. Ellis Read, in charge of R. Towns and Co.’s stores, also resided on the island. Life was much pleasanter there than on the dead plains surrounding Burketown, and the sea breezes were constant and refreshing. On Sweer’s Island, which is only about nine miles long, and from half a mile to three miles in width, vegetables and watermelons grow in profusion. A township was surveyed called Carnarvon, after the Earl of Carnarvon, allotments were sold and buildings erected. The first Customs House in the Gulf was here, and Mr. Sandrock was the first officer. The soil on Sweer’s Island is sandy, and the grass thick in places. The turtle ponds made there by Captain Norman of the “Victoria” in 1861-2, were still to be seen in 1866, as also was the well sunk by Flinders in 1803, from which fresh water was still obtainable. Opposite the island, towards the west, lay Bentinck Island, much larger than Sweer’s, though unoccupied, except by the natives, whose fires could be seen every evening after dark. About forty miles north-east of Sweer’s Island is Bountiful Island, noted for its oysters, and also for turtles, large numbers resorting there at certain seasons. Sweer’s Island has been deserted for many years, and is no longer a health resort. The buildings are gone, and the people also. The only residents now (1897), are a family of the name of Creffield, who keep some cattle, goats and sheep on the island.

To the south-west of Burketown is a fine run called Lawn Hill, comprising a lot of good country surrounded by mountains, and well watered. This property was taken up by Mr. Frank Hann and Mr. E. R. Edkins in 1875. The former bought up many of the brands of cattle left in the district by former occupiers, and also travelled stock from Lolsworth on the Burdekin, and by this means a large herd was soon raised. At the same time the Watson Brothers stocked Gregory Downs, which is only ninety miles from Burketown. Then Mr. F. H. Shadforth, who had come all the way from Victoria overland with his family, took up Lilydale, next to Lawn Hill. In those days the supplies had to be obtained from Normanton, so Hann, Watson, and Shadforth chartered a schooner, loaded her with station supplies and material for a store for Foulkes and Harris to start business. The schooner arrived, and the store was erected on the site of old Burketown, but disaster followed. Foulkes was drowned, and Harris was killed by his team of horses bolting and dragging the waggon over him. Then Watson Brothers ran the store for a time, Mr. P. S. Watson taking charge and enlarging it in every way. Shortly afterwards Mr. Michael Kelly opened a public house, and the town commenced its second term of existence. Mr. Jack Reid soon opened another public house, and Burns, Philp and Co. began another store under the management of Mr. Theodore C. Amsden. Then police protection under Senior-constable Synnott, arrived, as the people were becoming rather lawless. Mr. P. Macarthur was appointed Customs Officer, and in conjunction with this appointment held many other offices. Finally the Queensland National Bank opened a branch. The town now progressed quickly owing to the great number of cattle passing through to the northern territory and the reoccupation of all the deserted runs. A Divisional Board was formed in 1884, and the population of the town rose to three hundred and fifty. Burketown resumed her old activity in business matters, and the evil name died out with the memories of the old days. So mote it be!